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Few texts have been the occasion for the spilling of more ink than Matthew 16:17-19:

And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,...

He was one of Jesus’ core disciples. He—together with Peter and his own brother John—were the three privileged to witness the Transfiguration, for example (Mark 9:2), and this was not the only time Jesus singled out the these core disciples (cf. Mark 5:37, 13:3, 14:32-33).

When the names of the Twelve apostles are given, they’re always given in three blocks of four names (Matt. 10:1-4, Mark 3:13-19, Luke 6:12-16, Acts 1:13). This James,...

"Ah, sister, thou hast got the start of us, but we will follow thee as quickly as we may."

~ Mark Barkworth, convert, priest, martyr, Venerable; upon kissing the garments of Ven. Anne Lyne who had just been executed for "harboring a priest" and just before he was drawn and quartered at Tyburn on the first Tuesday of Lent, 1601.